


Help, I've Fallen and I Can't Skate

by meandmybrokenfeels



Series: NaNoWriMo 2016 One-Shot Collection [4]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: AU, Ficlet, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 09:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8483959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meandmybrokenfeels/pseuds/meandmybrokenfeels
Summary: AU where Bitty is visiting some friends from home up at Samwell, where they go to college. While there, he (literally) falls for Jack Zimmermann, captain of the hockey team and all-around beautiful person.  Based on the prompt: “my friends want to go ice skating but I don’t know how, can you help me?”





	

“Would you take a look at that,” Bitty exhaled, eyes glued to the strong build gliding effortlessly around the rink. 

“Hm?” Evan asked, following Bitty’s gaze. “Oh, that's Jack Zimmermann. He's captain of the hockey team. They're actually doing pretty well this year.” Bitty zoned out as his friend went over their stats from season to season. He was more interested in staring. 

So interested, in fact, that he missed the step onto the ice and fell flat on his face. 

_Please tell me Hot Guy didn't see that_ , he prayed, taking a moment to catch his breath. He was too distracted by his fall to remember the guy’s name. _Jake? James? Something with J_

He panicked as he heard someone skating towards his head, but thankfully they stopped before hitting him. The only thing that could make this moment any more embarrassing would be-

“Hey, are you okay?”

-if the hot guy first noticed him because of _that_.

Steeling himself, he lifted his head with what he hoped was a dazzling smile. “Right as rain!” Bitty took the hand that was offered and pulled himself up. 

“You sure you're okay?” Hot Guy asked, looking him over. 

“Oh, sure! I didn't have far to fall,” he joked. “I'm Bitty.”

Hot Guy raised an eyebrow. “You're not _that_ tiny,” he said, confused. 

Bitty laughed awkwardly. “No! Um, my name is Bitty. Well, Eric. Bittle. But you can call me Bitty.” He cringed inwardly at how dumb he sounded explaining it out loud. _Why didn't I just say Eric?_

He could see Evan slowly backing away towards Garrett and Becca, shooting Bitty a wink and mouthing “You’ve got this!” before giving him a thumbs up.

“Oh.” _Great, now he thinks I'm insane_. “Cute.” _SCORE!_ “So, uh, first time skating?”

 _Good sir, you are speaking to a figure skater extraordinaire_. “Haha, yeah. There’s not really much chance for ice skating down south,” Bitty lied through his teeth.

“I could show you. I mean, if you’d like,” Hot Guy offered. “I’m on the hockey team here.”

“Oh gosh, that would involve a lot of skating.” Bitty planned on sticking to the ‘playing dumb’ technique. It seemed to be working.

 _This boy_. He had a smile that could light up the world. And those muscles--Bitty took advantage of them every chance he could get. If he ever stumbled slightly, he’d grab onto Hot Guy--Jack-- by the arm (and maybe held on for a bit too long). They talked about everything from Samwell to the University of Georgia, and even went back so far as to swap stories from elementary school.. 

When they skated past Evan and the rest of his friends, the group winked and wolf whistled at the pair. Bitty rolled his eyes and blushed. That wasn’t nearly as bad as when they passed another group on the ice, however. One of the people, with long hair and an impressive but also intimidating mustache, kept yelling profanities and other strange things, no matter how much the rest of them tried to calm him down. 

“GET IT, YOU BEAUTIFUL CREATURE.”

“Shits, leave him be-”

“NO! LOOK AT HOW HAPPY THAT MOTHER-”

“THIS IS AN OPEN SKATE FOR FAMILIES, SHITTY. WATCH YOUR GODDAMN LANGUAGE.”

Bitty raised his eyebrows at Jack, confused and a little bit concerned. “Is this how y’all interact up here?”

Jack shrugged, looking only a bit embarrassed. “That's the team. Well, part of it. The loud one is Shitty.”

“Oh, Lord. Is that any way to talk about your teammate?”

“No, no, his name is Shitty. It's kind of a long story. Nobody really knows his first name,” Jack explained. 

“Nicknames. I understand,” Bitty said knowingly, remembering the confusion over his own just--how long ago had it been? “Have we been skating for an hour and a half?!”

Jack glanced up at the clock. “That would seem to be the case. And look, you've learned so much. Your skating is coming along nicely.”

Bitty looked down and realized he'd been likely skating on his own--and well-- for quite a while now. “Oh, well, I had a good teacher,” he complimented, rededicated to keeping up the ruse. 

Jack looked around the now-sparse rink. “I think-”

He was cut off by a buzzer going off. The few people left began to filter out, and a girl even shorter than Bitty poked her head out of the area leading to the locker room. “Get a move on, Zimmermann! We’ve got to get started!”

“Be right there!” Jack called out before turning back to his companion. “That's the end of free skate, and we’ve got a closed practice. How long are you in the area?”

“I'm just up for the long weekend, heading back home on Monday.”

“If you've got time, there's a game tomorrow night. I could get you some tickets,” Jack offered. “If your friends are interested, of course. I don't want to keep you from them any more than I already have.”

Bitty smiled and looked up at him. “I'd like that.”

~~~

Bitty’s friends did not stop grilling him for the next 24 hours. 

“So, wait, go over exactly what you talked about.”

“I already told you.”

“But what did he look like when you were talking? Did he seem bored?”

“I thought he looked interested.”

“In the conversation or in you?”

“We’ll just have to find out, now won't we.”

It finally came to a pause when they reached the ticket counter. “Are there any tickets here for an Eric Bittle?” 

The bored-looking seller glanced around her tiny booth. “I don't see any.”

He paused, hesitant. “Are there any under the name Bitty?” he asked, waiting for inevitable awkward explanation and praying that the tickets would be there. 

She shuffled through a few envelopes before pulling one out and opening it. “I've got four tickets for an ‘ _Itty Bitty_ ’. That you?”

Bitty laughed in an attempt to stave off the blush he could feel rising. “Yup, that's me!

She raised an eyebrow as she handed him the envelope. “There you go. Enjoy the game,” she said, emotionless. 

When they reached the row and seat numbers printed on the tickets, they were impressed. They were even with the center and a few rows up, so they could clearly see all of the action on the ice.

Garrett and Becca glanced at each other and snickered. He assumed they were up to something, but as it likely wouldn’t end in death or dismemberment, he figured he was safe in letting them play their little game.

Jack was beautiful. He clearly knew his way around the sport, and it was amazing to watch how his teammates trusted him so much and worked with him to push towards the goal.

With less than a minute left on the clock, the score was tied, and Jack Zimmermann had just taken possession of the puck. He fought his way down the ice and shot it into the net, scoring only moments before time ran out. 

The crowd erupted with cheers, and that was when it was revealed: Garrett reached into his jacket and pulled out a small square, which was unfolded to reveal what had been written in large letters on one side:

**YO MARRY ME, JACK ZIMMERMANN**

Bitty felt his face become hot with embarrassment as he read it. _Dear Lord, maybe I can make him take it down before Jack_ \- 

“He’s looking!” Garrett yelled, waving the sign even higher. 

_Shit_. 

Jack gave the group a thumbs up and a dazzling smile, and Bitty was almost positive he saw a wink in there as well. If possible, his face grew redder as he surpassed ripe apple and went straight for tomato. 

As the group was gathering up their things to leave, they heard someone call Bitty’s name. 

“Yes?” Bitty asked, turning around only to nearly run straight into a rather large chest. 

Jack grabbed onto Bitty’s shoulders, steadying him. “Whoa, you okay?” Bitty nodded, trying to avoid eye contact in an effort to forget the sign Garrett had made. “The team is heading down to Annie’s to celebrate. You could join us, if you’d like.” He looked up, seeming to notice the rest of the group standing there, and dropped his hands from Bitty. “You’re all welcome to join.” 

They each had their excuses; Evan that he had homework, Garrett that he had to get his rest before church the next morning, and Becca that she had a dying grandmother to tend to. Bitty glared at them as Jack gave him the directions, telling him to meet them there in twenty minutes. 

“I can’t believe y’all are sending me off alone with a bunch of strangers,” Bitty accused his friends. 

“Bits, they’re hot strangers,” said Becca. “It’s not like we’re dropping you off with a bunch of creeps.” 

“Besides, you’ll do fine,” Evan encouraged him. “That Jack, he’s good people.” 

“Do you wanna keep the sign?” Garrett offered. “I’ll let ya.” 

“I’m not touching that thing with a ten-foot pole,” Bitty said quickly, backing away a few steps. 

Becca rolled her eyes and gave him a hug. “Go on, you’ll be late. We’ll see you in the morning.” 

“Will you be making your way back to our room, or should we send a car to the hockey players’ frat house around 10?” 

“Garrett, if you say one more thing, I swear I will push you onto that ice directly in front of the zamboni.” 

“Don’t mess it up!” Evan called over his shoulder as the group took off. 

Bitty took a deep breath and headed down the street, making the required turns until he found his way to the diner Jack had been talking about. It seemed nearly empty. He stood outside, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, for about a minute until an incredibly noisy vehicle came careening down the street and into the parking lot. Four large, sweaty, laughing men got out, followed by the much smaller but still laughing girl from yesterday. 

When Jack saw Bitty, his smile weakened the smaller boy’s knees. “You made it!” he said, sounding excited. “Here, come meet some of the team.” 

Jack placed his hand on Bitty’s back and gently guided him towards where the group had already run to claim a table, likely their usual spot if their excitement and possessiveness were anything to go by. 

“Yo, Tiny made it!” 

“Um, Bitty, actually.” 

“That’s adorable.” 

The girl scooched over in the booth, shoving the one with the mustache. “Move, Shits. Come on in,” she said, gesturing for him to join them. 

Jack slid in across the table. “Bitty, this is Ransom, Holster, Shitty, and Lardo,” he said, pointing to each person as he introduced them. 

The team was loud, but friendly, and more open to accepting newcomers into their group than any other jocks Bitty had met before. Still, when Jack asked if he wanted to go get some fresh air, he readily agreed. Their departure was only met with mild interest, as the rest of the table had been split in half due to a heated debate over the best kind of M &M.  
Jack and Bitty walked down the dark and quiet street, slightly closer to each other than acquaintances or even friends would be. The backs of their hands brushed against each other more than once, and after the third time, Jack reached out and hooked his pinky around Bitty’s. Bitty’s breath hitched, and he paused for a moment before adjusting so they could properly hold hands. 

“Let’s not get married quite yet,” Jack said suddenly. 

“Wh-what?” Bitty asked, frantically trying to think of what would make him say something like-- _oh_. 

“But.. I wouldn’t say no to a date,” he finished, looking down at Bitty, a soft and somewhat shy smile on his face. 

Bitty would always remember that night, under the stars, as the first kiss that truly meant something to him, and as the moment he began to fall in love. 

~~~

“I have to tell you something,” Bitty said as they paused to catch their breath 

“Hm?” 

“I didn’t really need you to teach me how to skate. I just wanted to get close to you,” Bitty admitted. 

“Oh, that? I already knew you could skate,” Jack said plainly, brushing off the confession. 

“What? How?” 

“You ‘learned’ way too fast. There’s being a natural, and there’s being able to do what you did in just a few minutes.” 

“I’m actually a figure skater,” Bitty said, somewhat nervous for the response. 

“Really?” Jack asked, looking interested. “You’ll have to show me sometime.” 

Bitty grinned. “Are you saying you’d like to see me again?” 

Jack moved in close until their lips were almost touching. “I’m saying I never want to stop.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time attempting Zimbits and I hope I did this adorable prompt justice. Also, thanks again to Leah (breakingmystie.tumblr.com) for blessing me real good with this story.


End file.
